What is: recommendations from past actions & group
accountability agreements that have been made: these include reminders
of basics on health, safety, preparation, legal issues, what to bring
and not bring, etc. if your group has succeeded in coming to some agreements
before leaving, it's good to put them here, particularly since additional
people may still be joining the group. here's an example
of ours.

The vital information page
is generally something that can be torn out of the packet and put into
your pocket for easy access. For this reason you should never use real
names on the vital information page-nicknames only.

affinity groups and direct
action: the framework: this provides framework information about how
an affinity group can function and what the
structure of the action might look like. we generally inlcude some information
about how the consensus process works, communication tools and some tools
about how to deal with personal violence.

this city: you should know something about the history of the place
you are going, in terms of race, class, oppression, and protest. often
the host organizing groups have put together some information like this.
also some groups which do "scouting" write reports intended
for outsiders.

this week: includes
as much info as possible on planned events during the week such as trainings,
educational events, permitted marches, calls-to-action from various groups,
etc...

maps: this includes
maps about how to get from home to where you are going as well as maps
of the city and close-ups of the protest area. a map of the city can be
torn out and kept in a pocket with other vital information. at all times,
activists should carry a map that can help them get home and a map with
all of the streets in the protest area with street names legible so that
they can figure out where they were when something happened and how to
get out of there quickly.

legal: two types of info:

[1] general information on
the legal process. here are some online sources that you can print &
put in the packet.

[2] specific legal information
on what is up in the city you are about to protest in. in this section
of the info packet we try to include as specific information related
to the city as we can, and this info is usually on the organizing websites
for the action. for example, are masks legal or illegal? what are the
rules concerning how your sign is mounted? can it be a wood pole for
your sign? how thick can it be?etc.... remember, however, that once
you are in a large group, anything you do may be declared illegal and,
at the same time, it's unlikely that police will bother with the mask
ordinance.

media talking points:
inevitably you will be approached by media, especially if you are not
prepared to speak to them. if you have memorized a few "talking points"
it will provide the opportunity to take advantage of the media rather
than the media taking advantage of you. the longer you speak, the more
likely the media is to make you sound stupid. for this reason it's good
to stick with soundbite material which comes off the cleanest if it has
been pre-written. often you can find talking points on the web or modify
the basic logic of talking points to fit this event.

basic first aid: there will likely be street medics at the action,
but nonetheless it is useful to know how to deal with repression. the
basics are good to have and the black cross health collective has a very
useful handbook.